


...In From the Cold

by dkmcb01



Category: NCIS, The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, I had to try to give her an exit I wouldn't hate, Jack is leaving, Love, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:54:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29117829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkmcb01/pseuds/dkmcb01
Summary: Jack is leaving the show.  I had to try to give her an exit I wouldn't hate.Raymond Reddington (from The Blacklist TV show) is not a criminal in this fanfic - he is a CIA operative.*I apologize for the formatting errors - I have no idea what is going on
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane, Raymond Reddington / Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	...In From the Cold

_“This is unfortunate,” Red thought to himself as he carefully peered around a stack of pallets._

This was supposed to be a gentlemanly agreement – not a fight to the death disagreement in a run-down D.C warehouse. He knew Dembe was here somewhere – doing what he did best …. Outflanking the bad guys. Of course, who the bad guys were – was a matter of perspective.

Out of the corner of his eye, Red spotted Dembe moving into a promising position. Yes, they were outnumbered – but, when weren’t they? From somewhere above him, Red heard a whisper quiet scrape of metal. Without any thought and on reflex alone, he ran out from behind the stack of pallets – hoping to draw fire away from his best friend. His path left his torso unprotected. Within seconds, he felt the two bullets tear into his gut. 

He found it strange, as he always did, when he took a bullet – the feeling wasn’t so much pain as it was the initial impact – which took him off his feet. So, mostly he felt the cold impact of the concrete floor. Then the burning. As he struggled to get away from any more rounds, he took another in the shoulder. Now, he was just pissed.

He moved as fast as he could trying his damnedest to retreat to the stack of pallets. He looked up – into the face of another “bad guy” and promptly put a bullet between his eyes. Rule number 1 in a gunfight was _“don’t lose your gun”_ and he hadn’t.

He could hear the report of Dembe’s modified IWI Jericho 9mm. It was a beautiful weapon. Red always did like the Israelis’ attention to detail. Soon, he heard only Dembe’s footsteps running toward him.

_“Raymond!”_

_“Dembe…it seems our clean and quick exit is going to be delayed.” Raymond replied as he coughed up blood._

Dembe laid Red down on the cold concrete floor to assess his injuries. The gurgling drowning sound was from his lung – which now probably had a decent sized hole in it and was filling up with blood. The other major wound was in Red’s stomach and that was never good. The shoulder injury was bleeding badly as well. Dembe reached into his bag for their first-aid kit. Pulling out 3 military-grade quik clotting bandages – he applied them to Red’s wounds and took out the ceftriaxone. 

_“Red…hold still and you’re going to hate this part.”_

_“I hate being shot also – but here we are. Are you going to jab that thing in my leg?”_

Dembe didn’t answer he took the cap off the “epi-style” injector – jabbed it hard against Red’s pants and pushed the button – releasing the antibiotic into Red’s body.

_“Fuck! That’s the worst part of this whole mess!” Red whisper-yelled._

Dembe dug out his burner phone and watched Red cough up an enormous amount of blood.

Red was still bleeding through the bandages that were designed to stop bleeding. He felt cold and dizzy – neither good signs. 

Red wiped the blood off his mouth and asked,

_“Did we get what we came for?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“maybe it’s time we came in from the cold…call Ja..” Red replied as he passed out_

Dembe took a deep breath and did the one thing he had dreaded for all these years.

*******

_“Let’s go 2 out of 3 to make it fair” Jack winked a smile in Bishop’s direction._

_“Deal! You know I have been practicing every chance I get…” Ellie shot back._

Jack stood at the line and threw a perfectly arced dart right into the bullseye. It had been a slow week at NCIS. Everyone was enjoying the down time. The last few weeks had been brutal. Everyone was exhausted. 

Leon had made Gibbs and Torres go home and get some rest while McGee, Ellie and Jack held down the fort. Gibbs grumbled and then agreed to go home – mumbling something about his boat. Torres had almost jumped for joy and headed for the gym.

Ellie had already been up in Jack’s office for an hour or so. They drank coffee, threw darts and caught up on some valuable “girl” time.

_“Where’s McGee?” Jack asked as she unwrapped a red sucker and stuck it in her mouth._

_“Last I saw he was writing code for a new video game for the twins.” Ellie smile and then rolled her eyes. “He says the current age-appropriate video games are too boring for his children.”_

Jack laughed and launched another dart at the board in front of her.

Jack’s phone beeped alerting them to a text message.

_“El, can you see who that is. I am on a roll here.”_

Ellie picked up Jack’s phone and read aloud,

_“It’s an ad for a pizza place…Nick’s Pizza is having a 3-topping pizza sale…$6.69… delivery only…order ASAP. Now, I am hungry! I wonder how quickly they can deliver. Have you heard of this place?_

Ellie didn’t see Jack stop in mid-throw…the dart dropping to the floor half-way to the board. Jack turned to Ellie and reached for the phone.

_“Sounds good, huh?” Ellie asked but looking at Jack._

 _“You okay, Jack? You look a little pale._ ”

Jack moved to her desk, grabbing her purse and her service weapon from its drawer.

_“Ellie, you trust me, right? I mean really trust me?” Jack asked – her voice – on the verge of panic._

_“Jack, yes of course! What is it?” Ellie replied._

_“Meet me in the parking garage, bring your gear,” Jack replied as she left her office quickly with Ellie following._

Ellie headed downstairs to get her gear while simultaneously trying to act calm and cool. Jack hadn’t mentioned anything about alerting Tim. Ellie decided quickly she would keep Jack’s confidence – whatever this was.

Jack headed for Leon’s office…bypassing his secretary …she opened the door and stepped in. She pointed to her ear. Leon looked at her for a split second and then pushed the button to seal the room. He moved around his desk to Jack and asked,

_“What is it Jack?”_

 _“Leon, I got a text from Nick’s Pizza. A 6.69! From…how…how is he alive? I thought_ _he was dead?!? Is this real? Did you know?!? Where…where do I send him?”_

Leon nodded and moved back around his desk. He slid open a panel that unless you knew was there you would not suspect to be there at all. He pulled out a phone and a Glock with a silencer attached.

_“The phone is a burner. Take this. Send him to Ducky’s. Call when you know more.”_

Jack nodded and gave Leon a quick hug and was gone.

Leon took a deep breath and silently prayed they would all get out of this unscathed. He then picked up another burner phone and called Gibbs and Ducky.

***

Ellie was already standing by Jack’s car as the elevator opened. Jack hurried out , texting Ducky’s address as she went.

Ellie watched Jack as she drove through the city streets at a higher rate of speed that normal.

_“Jack, where are we headed? Should I call Gibbs? That text message wasn’t about pizza was it?” Ellie finally asked._

Jack took a deep breath and she took the corner sharply. Her discreetly modified Mini Cooper roared to life and she hit the accelerator.

_“It’s a long, long story. We don’t have much time until we get to Ducky’s place. Let’s just say an undercover operator-that I thought was dead- is critically wounded on the verge of death and Ducky’s has just been turned into a safe house/ER.”_

***

Dembe finished sending the text message to Jack and put his unconscious friend in the car. As the text suggested – if you knew the code – he had 3 gunshot wounds; two of them at six o’clock … the other at 9. Dembe had applied a tourniquet to Red’s arm to stop the bleeding. Red had hit his head when he went down but the cut seemed superficial.

Dembe had drove quickly away from the factory – putting distance between them and the dead bodies they left behind. He was waiting impatiently for Jacqueline “Jack” Sloane to text him back. 

A few seconds later, Dembe received the address and headed to Ducky’s place.

***

Gibbs was sanding the keel of his latest creation when his phone rang. He picked it up but didn’t recognize the number. He flipped it open and answered,

_“Hello.”_

_“Gibbs, what do you know about duck hunting? Does it still start June 6 th at 9 am?”_

Gibbs was running up the stairs before Leon finished the call.

***

Ducky was keeping a close eye on his risotto. It was the one dish he had yet to master. It took patience and persistence to get it just right. When his phone rang, he fished it out of his pants pocket while trying to stir and add water at the same time.

_”Hello?”_

_“Dr. Mallard, I was just talking with Gibbs, he says duck hunting season does start on June 6 th at 9 am. We should plan a trip.”_

Ducky turned off the burner to his Risotto with a sigh – “next time Mr. risotto…next time”. He hurried to his own basement to prepare for visitors.

Gibbs arrived a few minutes later, heading straight for Ducky’s basement. Past the normal basement and behind a normal door was a verifiable ER/ICU.

_“Ducky…do we know who it is?”_

Ducky had replaced his apron with surgical scrubs.

_“Hi Jethro. I have no idea. Leon is a man of few words. But given the use of burner phones – it must be someone important – someone coming in from the cold so to speak? I can’t remember the last time this happened. Can you? Please call Dr. Palmer – it’s as good a time as any to have him learn about this part of NCIS.”_

Gibbs nodded and headed to the basement door to wait for the wounded agent. He pulled out his phone and called Palmer.

_“Palmer, need you at Ducky’s place now.” Gibbs said staunchly._

_“Uh…Gibbs….sure on my way.” Palmer responded._

***

Dembe surveyed Ducky’s back alley and yard from inside the car. Everything seemed quiet. Dembe opened the door slowly and hurried to the backseat. Red was in and out…mumbling Jack’s name and coughing up blood. Dembe was surprised his best friend was still alive…there was so much blood. He picked Red up and stayed in the shadows…working his way to a back door he had spotted. 

Gibbs pulled his weapon and peered around the corner of the door frame into the backyard. He saw one agent carrying another…barely visible deep in the shadows the trees in Ducky’s yard provided. 

_“Ducky, our visitors have arrived."_

Ducky nodded as he prepared his surgical instruments.

***

Jack parked her Mini in Ducky’s driveway – like it was just another visit from a friend. She took a deep breath and glanced over at Ellie – they both nodded and exited the vehicle – their weapons discreetly out and heads on a swivel.

By the time Jack and Ellie made it down to the basement, Dembe had brought Red inside. Both were covered in blood. Ducky was giving him a quick look while Gibbs held clean gauze to the head and shoulder. 

Ellie and Jack reached the bottom step and stopped to stare.

Jack swallowed hard at the sight of Raymond Reddington – bleeding profusely – on Ducky’s secret operating table. 

Dembe saw Jack and nodded, walking over to her.

_“Jacqueline. Please go to him. He’s lost too much blood.”_

Jack ran to Red’s side, grabbing his hand

_“I’m here. I’m right here. You made it. Let Ducky help you. Please. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Jack said through tears she swore she would not shed – not in front of the team._

Red opened his eyes at the sound of Jack’s voice. He had to fight. He couldn’t die – not now. Not when his beautiful Jacqueline was within reach. Red took as deep of a breath as his broken body would allow and whispered,

_“my Jacqueline.”_

Jack stepped back as Ducky and the recently arrived Dr. Palmer went to work. Palmer took x-rays as Ducky sedated Red.

***

Jack went over to the couch where Ellie had sat down to watch the events unfold. Dembe moved off to the side behind a screen to change his blood-stained clothes. Gibbs came over with a warm wet towel for Jack.

_“Here…for the blood on your hands. Jack? Do you know him?”_

Jack took the towel as she sat down…wiping Red’s blood of her hands for the second time in her life. Her mind was spinning. How was he alive? She had watched Masahun drag him out of their cell she had heard the shots…

Jack took another deep breath. She looked up into Gibb’s steel blue eyes – she wouldn’t lie to him, couldn’t lie to him. Not after everything they had been through. Her mind scrambled and she blurted out the only answer she had

_“Jethro. That’s Raymond Reddington. I thought he died…in Afghanistan…he was captured with the Wingos and I. I thought he was killed. He’s my husband.”_

The tears she had kept at bay finally let go and she covered her face as she sobbed. Gibbs stared at Jack trying to wrap his mind around what she had just said. Ellie reached for Jack and she collapsed into Ellie. 

Gibbs moved to the outer basement to call Leon.

****

_“Gibbs, what’s the update? Is he alive?”_

Gibbs paced back and forth in Ducky’s small outer basement.

_“Yes. Jack’s husband is alive. Ducky and Palmer are working on him right now. He’s lost a lot of blood.”_

Leon downed the drink in his hand and waited. He didn’t wait long.

_“Leon! What the hell is going on? Who is Raymond Reddington? Jack’s husband? Why didn’t I know she had been married?!?”_

_“Gibbs. I know Ducky has single malt in his basement – find it and find a seat while you’re at it. I’ll wait.”_

Gibbs looked around – knowing Leon wouldn’t give him any answers until he calmed down a bit. He found the single malt – a glass that was actually clean and a seat. He poured himself a double and downed in quickly.

_“Okay – can I have answers now?” Gibbs growled._

_“Raymond Reddington was…is an undercover operative with the CIA - declared KIA in Afghanistan after my team rescued Jack. We recovered the bodies of her team. We did not recover Reddington’s body. It was assumed he was killed and his body unrecoverable._

_What actually, happened – and this goes no further than this call – Raymond had highly volatile information – he made a deal with Masahun. He’d cooperate with them if they let Jack and the Wingos go. She told me later, he volunteered to go first – so she wouldn’t have to decide. The bastard still made her say his name out loud. Raymond was drug away and supposedly shot in the head._

_We rescued Jack and the Wingos a week later._

_Raymond made contact 3 months after the rescue. By then he was feeding Masahun false intelligence. Eventually, he figured out Raymond was lying to him. Masahun went to confront Raymond but he had escaped. We tried to get him to come in. Raymond knew that if he went anywhere near Jack – his appearance would put her in danger. So, he stayed out and searched for a way to take Masahun down. That’s what he was doing when he was shot today. We found Masahun and his men dead in a warehouse in Fairfax._

_Why Jack didn’t tell you she had been married? You will have to ask her. But I suspect – it’s a memory she does not want to revisit. Gibbs…she had to tell that bastard that she chose her husband to die. I can’t imagine what it is like to live with that memory.”_

Gibbs listened to Leon tell the story. He couldn’t imagine the pain she went through. Gibbs finished up with Leon – promising to keep him in the loop. He stood up and took the bottle with him – back to check on Jack and Ellie.

***

While Gibbs was updating Leon – Jack had finally cried herself out and apologized to Ellie for the wet shirt. Dembe had come back over and was sitting in a chair facing Ducky and Dr. Palmer – he watched them intently and willed Red to live. 

Jack turned at the sound of the basement door. She tried to smile but with her red eyes -she was sure it didn’t really work. Gibbs sat down beside her and put the bottle on the table in front of them.

_“I’m sure Ducky doesn’t mind.” He said._

_“Gibbs, can you call McGee and tell him to bring his laptop? You might as well call Torres too – he will feel left out. And Kasie – we will need her too,” Ducky said aloud from beside the operating table._

_“Sure Duck. You find something?’_

_“Jethro, Dr. Palmer just pulled a microchip and memory card out of Mr. Reddington’s arm.”_

Gibbs looked at Dembe- who just nodded and said,

_“That’s why we are here._ ”

Dembe then pulled a small device out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the table.

_“you will need that to read the microchip and memory card”_

Ellie and Jack just looked at each other.

_“What has he been doing all these years?” Jack whispered to herself_

Gibbs went back out to the outer basement and called the rest of the team.

***

Within 30 minutes Torres and McGee had arrived. Gibbs pulled them into the outer basement and filled them in.

_“….I don’t know what’s on the microchip and memory card but whatever it is – is important enough to die for…McGee get the device and figure out what is on those cards. Torres – find out who shot Agent Reddington – who those guys were in the factory. Make sure there aren’t any lurking in the shadows.”_

***

Gibbs, McGee and Torres returned to the room and found Kasie sitting beside Jack. 

Dembe was on the phone with Red’s security team – who was in route to secure the location.

_“Mr. Reddington’s security team is on their way – they will secure the perimeter of this house. “_

Gibbs just looked at Dembe then at Jack and shrugged. He didn’t know what was going on and wondered if Leon knew any more than he did.

***

Jack leaned back on the surprisingly comfortable couch and closed her eyes. She was confused about her feelings, about Raymond not being dead, about everything. She let her mind drift back to happier times with her husband.

There were long weekends on the coast. Raymond reading or playing with Jax, their rescue dog – while Jack surfed. Bonfires on the beach, huddled under a blanket – laughing at each other’s silly jokes. The times he took her dancing just because he knew she loved to see him all dressed up. The Saturday mornings – sleeping in and making love. 

When he died, when she thought he died – she thought she would die too. And in a way, a part of her did. Now, just a few feet away, he lay on an operating table in a secret ER hidden in Ducky’s basement – fighting for his life. Before she knew it, she was crying again and Kasie was pulling her in for a hug.

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> More?


End file.
